The hunger games continued

Chapter 23-let the games begin

I sit in bed watching the sun rise, my little sister curled up beside me, I slept for maybe an hour last night, and I had a terrifying nightmare about the games, there is a knock at the door, "it's time" someone says, I wake up Sonny, reluctantly, she looks so peaceful when she sleeps, it kills me. "Sonny, I'm so sorry, it's time, I'm so so sorry" she flutters her eyelashes and looks up at me with her watery blue eyes, "I don't want to go" she mumbles, I start to cry, "I know" I whimper, "I know, I know, I know" we get up and she goes back to her room, I shower, it will probably be the last one I ever have, when I emerge and go back into my room I find a pair of boots, socks and pants along with a black t-shirt, I dress in them and decide to do my hair the way mom did, a single braid down my back, I meet a peacekeeper outside of my room and am escorted to a hovercraft, fear gripping my stomach, the only thing keeping me from collapsing and refusing to go any further is the thought of Sonny entering the arena and finding me gone. I walk to the ladder protruding from the hovercraft and am frozen to it, I get quite a shock and jump, it slowly begins to lift and before I know it I'm in the body of the big black plane, I sit in one of the seats and strap myself in, I stare down and my clean hands, they're sweaty but clean, I hear someone walk in and sit down, I don't look up, I don't want to talk to anyone, "how are you feeling?" asks Lorrie, I look up finally and say, with more venom than intended, "fine, how do you think I'm going?" I feel guilty and look down at my hands again, "okay, I guess I deserved that" she laughs, I look up confused, "you have every right to be pissed off, what they've done to you is rotten, please, just don't shut me out" I look up at her, "I could never" we're silent the whole way, at one point all the windows go black, "what's going on?"

"They don't want you to see where they're taking you" the hovercraft comes to a halt and I start to hyperventilate, "it's ok, it's ok" says Lorrie, "no, no! I won't go, I can't go I can't!"

"Please Forest, if you don't, bad things will happen, really really bad things, we have to go, now!" I stand up shakily and walk to the start of the ladder, I climb down until I have a good hold and I am let down through a dark tube, I look around me and see the image of what is inside me, darkness, all around me, the current stops and I find myself in a brightly lit room with items of clothing, "are you ok?" asks Lorrie, i turn and open my mouth to say something but immediately start crying, I shake my head and she hugs me, "I'm sorry this has happened, I really am" I cry into her shoulder for a while, getting a small sense of comfort from her. "30 seconds" a voice booms, I stare at Lorrie in horror, "it's ok, it's ok" she says, stroking my arm, she hands me a coat from one of the racks, "here, you will need this, trust me" Lorrie says sternly, I nod, my throat dry, " 20 seconds" the voice boomed again, "shhh, it's ok, you'll be fine" I nod again, if I was able to, I would cry, "I know that Cinna, your mothers stylist said the same thing to her before her first games, I'm not aloud to bet, but if I could I would bet on you" I smile, and whisper the only thing I could, "thank you" she smiles back, "10 seconds" I walk to the glass tube in the far corner of the room, the door closes and the platform begins to lift, I am suddenly in a meadow, but not a beautiful one like back home, it was dark and surrounded by gnarled dead trees, the sun is blanketed by the clouds, I feel scared here, I want to go home, I spot the bright gold Cornucopia, I stare at it as the 60 second count down begins, before I know it's the 10 second count down down, "10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1" the gong goes, let the games begin.